Town Receives $3K Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Grant

The Reading Police Department has been awarded a $3,000 grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety to provide increased enforcement of pedestrian and bicyclist safety for the month of September.

From 2006 to 2011, 1,544 pedestrians in the state were injured in crashes and 375 of those injuries resulted in fatalities, according to the Massachusetts Traffic Records Analysis Center. During that time, there were 586 bicyclists were injured in crashes with 45 resulting in death.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration used $192,000 in funds to provide grants to 48 additional police departments to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

The grant will be used to reduce the number of motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries involving pedestrians and bicyclists in Reading.

This project will help the department pinpoint the drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists who may put themselves or others at risk. It also will provide funds for targeted enforcement and decoy patrols, breakaway signs and crosswalk reflective tape, police said.

Photo credit: MassDOT Facebook page.